It’s not that Zhou Shaojin hasn’t seen gold bricks before.
The gold bricks she had seen were all small ones, no more than three inches long and an inch wide, and as delicate and exquisite as toys when placed in the palm of the hand. She had never seen gold bricks as big as the bricks used for building walls that she saw this time.
Zhou Shaojin was somewhat dumbfounded and felt like he was dreaming.
How much silver did Uncle Chi transfer from the public treasury
Will it be exposed
She was a little anxious!
Huaishan whispered, "Fourth Master, this is all we have for now. Shopkeeper Zhao and his men have gone to get more overnight."
Also, there is…
Zhou Shaojin looked at Cheng Chi in fear.
Seeing that she seemed frightened, Cheng Chi hurriedly said with a smile: "This much is enough."
If after some time there was a rift between the little girl and himself, considering Shao Jin's love for him, this kind of "private enrichment" thing could probably be done again.
Huaishan didn't know. Thinking about how Cheng Chi had just been asking him to find a way to get some gold bricks in, and then in the blink of an eye he said it didn't matter, he couldn't help but glance at Zhou Shaojin quickly.
I wonder what my second cousin wants to do with all this gold
Instead of putting it in the storeroom, it was buried shallowly under the floor tiles of the inner room... He didn't understand.
Cheng Chi was afraid that Zhou Shaojin would be scared, so he whispered to her, "Let's go out and let them fix it."
"Yeah!" Zhou Shaojin answered meekly, looked back at the gold bricks, which gave him a sense of reality. He followed Cheng Chi out of the inner room and grabbed Cheng Chi's sleeve tightly when there was no one else around.
Looking at her holding his white and tender little hand, Cheng Chi felt soft in his heart and asked her gently: "Did I scare you?"
Zhou Shaojin hurriedly shook his head, then nodded gently, and whispered, "Will the ancestor of the second house find out?"
Cheng Chi stopped and looked back at her, with a slightly mischievous smile on his face, and leaned forward and said, "Are you worried about me?"
Zhou Shaojin's face turned red.
Just talk, why is Uncle Chi standing so close to her
It almost hit her cheek.
However, this kind of thing must not be shouted out loud... She thought of his words "I can't help myself" and her face turned even redder.
Cheng Chi had already gotten what he wanted, and he knew that if he moved forward, the little girl would put up a wall in her heart again.
He stood up straight with a smile, pulled her hand, and said, "Let's go back and play chess?"
Still going
Zhou Shaojin opened his eyes wide.
Cheng Chi smiled and stepped forward again, whispering, "I'll tell you about the Seven Stars Hall!"
Zhou Shaojin was stunned when he heard that, but his blood started gushing up again and he was very excited.
Qixingtang... What a strange name! It's like the names of those martial arts sects in "Three Heroes and Five Gallants"... Could this be Uncle Chi's secret
Zhou Shaojin foolishly let Cheng Chi lead her forward.
The moment Cheng Chi stepped out of the hall, he glanced casually at the east wing, but let go of Zhou Shaojin's hand.
When Li saw Cheng Chi looking over here, she was startled and instinctively wanted to hide back. Then she remembered that she had only opened the window a crack and Cheng Chi should not be able to see it. She breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest. She felt as if she had survived a disaster. After watching Cheng Chi and Zhou Shaojin leave the main house one after another, she returned to the inner room and sat down, and quietly asked Li Ma, "Did you see clearly that the stern attendant beside the fourth master led people to carry five boxes and cages in?"
Nanny Li nodded, her voice lower than Li's: "I counted them secretly, there aren't many boxes, there can't be any mistakes."
Li couldn't help but mutter, "What on earth did the fourth master leave in the main room that he didn't have time to take away?"
Cheng Chi's words misled her. She thought Cheng Chi was taking something out instead of putting something in.
But no matter what, she decided to play deaf and dumb - after Guan Ge's hundred-day ceremony, she would take Shao Jin back to Baoding Prefecture, so why should she care about all this
She carefully warned Madam Li: "You must keep your mouth shut."
Nanny Li smiled and said, "I'll save that. If this gets out, it won't be a joke."
The fourth master of the Cheng family called the second young lady out late at night when everyone was asleep and asked her to come in and move some things. These things must be unusual, and she had some good eyesight.
Li felt relieved, blew out a lamp, and said to Li Ma, "Go to sleep! We have to go to the eldest aunt's place early tomorrow morning." Then she thought of Guan Ge, who was becoming more and more cute, and of her daughter who often lay beside him with her eyes fixed on him, she couldn't help laughing and went to bed in a happy mood.
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Zhou Shaojin followed Cheng Chi back to the study in the outer courtyard.
Cheng Chi asked Lang Yue to bring the tea set over and started making tea himself.
That’s what a long talk means!
Zhou Shaojin felt that it was still early and they could still talk for a long time.
This put her in a good mood.
She sat aside with a smile on her face, quietly watching Cheng Chi brew tea with graceful and skillful movements.
Cheng Chi saw that she looked calm and in a good mood.
After handing Zhou Shaojin a cup of tea, he said calmly, "Do you know about our ancestors?"
Zhou Shaojin held the teacup and nodded like a chick pecking at rice. Then he put the teacup under his nose and smelled the tea.
Cheng Chi smiled and explained, "It's the Da Hong Pao from last autumn. In a few days, there will be Long Jing and Bi Luo Chun before the Qingming Festival."
Zhou Shaojin took a bite.
The tea tastes mellow and long.
Really delicious!
She should have known that Uncle Chi was good at making tea.
What’s hateful is that he often orders me to make tea for him.
Zhou Shaojin was complaining in his heart, but he felt inexplicably happy. He moved his mind and playfully extended the teacup in front of Cheng Chi, saying coquettishly, "Another cup."
Cheng Chi laughed.
Does this little girl think she is a doctor in the teahouse
But Zhou Shaojin's sweet voice, the way he glanced at him half indulgently and half provocatively, was so cute that it made Cheng Chi's heart ripple.
So this is what a little girl looks like when she acts coquettishly!
He smiled lovingly and readily made a cup of tea for Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin only had this much courage. He only dared to make trouble for Cheng Chi occasionally, but he didn't dare to really make Cheng Chi anxious.
She drank her second cup of tea, then sat there quietly looking at Cheng Chi, waiting for him to speak.
So well-behaved!
How could anyone not like her
Cheng Chi's mind flashed through Yuan's appearance, but he quickly put her out of his mind and said, "Many people know that my ancestor died for his loyalty to the emperor and his country, but they don't know that the court was already in disarray and the moral principles were lost. Even if our ancestor had the ability to turn the tide, the situation was already over, and he was just doing his duty."
Zhou Shaojin heard Fang's expression become solemn and sat up straight.
Cheng Chi paused and said slowly, "But Emperor Lie seemed to have sensed the change of the Purple Star. Instead of working hard to strengthen the country, he became even worse. He spent his days in debauchery and drinking, so that the treasury was empty. Not to mention the salaries of ministers, even the military pay was often in arrears. The old ancestor was anxious, and he saw that the wealthy families in Jiangnan took advantage of the national crisis to collude with officials to buy private salt. In desperation, he tamed a few people in the underworld to use him, and formed a gang called "Seven Stars Hall" in the name of his brother to sell private salt, making profits from it to supplement the supply of the army."
"Ah?!" Zhou Shaojin opened his mouth wide and stammered, "In other words, the Cheng family started out as a salt smuggler?"
Cheng Chi laughed and said, "No! The Cheng family is the Cheng family, and the Seven Stars Hall is the Seven Stars Hall."
Zhou Shaojin thought of the strange relationship between Xiao Zhenhai and Cheng Chi, and said carefully: "Uncle Chi, is it true that you are the fourth master of Jiuru Lane in Jinling, but Cheng Si, Cheng Zichuan outside?" She suddenly realized and said loudly, "So the so-called general affairs you are in charge of are actually the 'Seven Star Hall', right?"
Her eyes lit up.
I feel like a lot of confusing things now make sense!
This little girl is always smart at critical moments. Why don't we see her being so thoughtful at other times
"Be careful!" Cheng Chi smiled and patted Zhou Shaojin's head, saying, "Not bad, not bad. You finally got smart for once."
His touch was filled with a hint of appreciation, and Zhou Shaojin decided not to bother with Cheng Chi.
She glared at Cheng Chi angrily and said, "I am very smart. It's because Uncle Chi is too smart that I seem not so smart!"
Cheng Chi laughed out loud.
After laughing, he said, "When I appeared as a member of the Cheng family in Jiuru Lane, Jinling, I was the fourth master of the Cheng family who won the imperial examination twice. But when I appeared as the head of the Seven Stars Hall, I was Cheng Si."
She twisted her fingers and asked, "Didn't anyone notice?"
Cheng Chi laughed and said, "Do you think those big guys in the underworld are famous families in Jiangnan? They are just a group of desperate criminals. They will avoid the head of the police when they see them. How could they take the initiative to provoke a family like us?"
Yes!
Sometimes a county magistrate can wipe out a group of bandits, not to mention that the Cheng family is the guests of honor of the county magistrate and the prefect, and is a family that can influence the promotion of the county magistrate and the prefect.
Zhou Shaojin smiled surprisingly.
Who knew that Cheng Chi suddenly changed the subject and said, "But there are also aristocratic families in the martial arts world, and several of them were sworn to be loyal to the Seven Stars Hall when my ancestors were young, and were supported by the Cheng family." At this point, his expression turned cold, "But time has passed, and these so-called martial arts aristocratic families have their own little calculations in front of interests. After all, the Cheng family is just a family of scholars. Back then, our ancestors only used them to make money and had no intention of holding them hostage. It was okay when our ancestors just died for the country. After all, the Seven Stars Hall was established by him, and they respected his feat. In addition, with the change of dynasties, those people were still honest, but as the world became peaceful, they either wanted to set up their own business or wanted to replace him."
Zhou Shaojin felt that it was dangerous just thinking about it, and said quickly: "Then give it to them! The Cheng family is a family of scholars who have passed down etiquette from generation to generation. They should take studying and becoming an official as the right path. This was something our ancestors had to do. If they want it, just give it to them. It's a good opportunity to draw a clear line between ourselves and these things!"
Cheng Chi smiled bitterly.
Even Shao Jin knew and could see through it, but the second branch's ancestor Cheng Xu couldn't let it go and couldn't see through it.
But this is probably why he likes Shao Jin!
Cheng Chi made another cup of tea for Zhou Shaojin and said, "At that time, the Cheng family was too busy to take care of themselves..."
Zhou Shaojin remembered.
After the ancestor of the Cheng family died for his country, almost all of the descendants of the Cheng family died out and the family's bloodline was almost cut off.
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Sisters and brothers, today’s update.
PS: I wrote half a chapter in the hotel before, and put it in the manuscript box when I went out at 6 o'clock. The inspection result is very good, nothing serious, and I rushed back to correct the typos. I am in a good mood. Thank you for your concern! I decided to go to have a meal with Zhigong. I will give myself a day off tomorrow, rest for a day, and only write one chapter. I will continue to repay the "debt" on Wednesday.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)